​POST OFFICE MEDIA ALERT: Forget the Easter egg hunt – there’s around millions of pounds in old tenners, fivers and round pounds to search for this weekend

• Post Office research, conducted by YouGov, has found that 29% (more than a quarter) of UK adults (age 18 and older) still have old currency (i.e. round pounds, old £5 or £10 notes) stashed somewhere – be that in their wallet, purse, change pot, car or house.

• The average amount that people believe they still have is around £13.

• However, around 6% of those adults asked believe they have somewhere between £20 and £50 still left to bank or exchange – that could buy of a lot of Easter Eggs!

• Of those with old currency, 18-24 years olds are likely to have the least amount (an average of £9.67), while those over the age of 55 are likely to have the most, with an average of £15.51.

• The recent bad weather might have hindered people getting out and about and spending their old tenners, which stopped being legal tender as of the 1^st March 2018.

• But fear not! The Post Office is here to help. Customers can visit any of our 11,500 branches and deposit their old tenners, along with their old fivers and round pounds, into their usual high street bank account. We’re still able to accept this as deposits into high street bank accounts, even though the deadlines have all passed for them to be used as legal tender.

• Thanks to an agreement with all UK high street banks, everyone can deposit cash and cheques, including any old notes or coins, into their usual high street bank account at their local Post Office branch – and customers can handily withdraw the new notes from their account at the same time, so it’s a case of in with the old and out with the new!

• With 11,500 branches across the UK, and over 99%[1] of people living within three miles of a Post Office, we’re pleased to offer our millions of customer a simple and convenient way to make every old £10 – and £5 and £1 too! - count.

Martin Kearsley, Banking Services Director at Post Office said: “We want to remind customers that, even if they don’t have a bank branch nearby, they can come to the Post Office to deposit their old notes and round pounds into any high street bank account this Easter.”

“Thanks to an agreement with all UK high street banks, everyone can deposit cash and cheques, including any old notes, into their usual high street bank account at their local Post Office branch – while also paying their bills; picking up their online shopping; collecting their travel money; getting cash; or any of the other many other reasons to pop in to our branches.

“With 11,600 branches across the UK, and over 99% of people living within three miles of a Post Office, we’re pleased to offer our millions of customers a simple and convenient way to make every old note and coin count.”

Further information:

• Post Office branches offer everyday banking services for 99% of personal banking customers, and 95% of business banking customers.
• This includes cash withdrawals, cash and cheques deposits, and balance enquiries.
• With almost 93% of people within a mile of their local post office, and 99.7% living within three miles, this provides vital access to banking services.
• This is especially important where customers see their local bank branch closing, ensuring that they can continue to access these services locally.
• The Post Office carries out around half a million banking transactions every single day across our network.
• We expect to see growth in the number of people accessing banking services through our branches as we continue to work with UK banks and Government to raise awareness of the services available to customers who require face-to-face branch services.
• When people can get cash locally, they spend it there too. Access to cash plays a vital role in many local communities, acting as the lifeblood to consumers and small businesses.

To note:

• All figures, where stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2083 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 9th - 15th March 2018. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).

[1]Post Office Limited Network Report - http://corporate.postoffice.co.uk/sites/default/files/networkreport2016.pdf